Banner Advertiser

Monday, May 23, 2011

[ALOCHONA] AL and Govt: Miles apart



AL and Govt: Miles apart

Bangladesh Awami League

http://www.dailykalerkantho.com/?view=details&type=gold&data=Study&pub_no=530&cat_id=1&menu_id=13&news_type_id=1&index=2


__._,_.___


[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com




Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[ALOCHONA] Re: A response to Myth-busting of Bangladesh war of 1971 by Sarmila Bose in english.aljazeera.net



Dear Shafiq

I have been very critical of BNP when it was in power. BNP's reaction to Pakistan was an appalling whimper – just like AL's would have been. `Gaa baachaya' behaviour is our national ethos. If Aung San Suu Kyi was whipped in public we would get the headline: `Dhaka urges caution'.

All governments have a responsibility to the victims of 1971. And it is important to substantiate the 3 million number precisely because traitors question it. I question it also to upset our hypocrites – the ones that keep silent, no matter what, when their party is in power, AL or BNP. I was not asking for a few collaborators to be hanged – rather why so few are pursued.  

We cannot compare anything we can set up with the Nuremberg trials. What vanity! Those trials started quickly, lasted about a year and charged two dozen Nazi leaders. There is no question of Bangladesh standing up for its dead and demanding the trial of Pakistani war criminals. It does not even occur to us. We prefer songs.

At least I thought about looking for mass graves. It is rather you who looks for excuses not to do so. J . The ICT visited two mass graves in Sylhet recently. No numbers of course.

I have no idea what you are talking about next.

I challenged Mohsin Ali to a debate and debate requires argument. J. Are you saying my challenge amounts to nothing because I tried to be polite and agreed to his counteroffer? The bodies of 3 million people are not molehills – they are mountains.

I did not deny Junaid Sultan a debate. I gave reasons for a different approach and he agreed – he could have refused. I am still meeting him and we will still discuss the issues.

Please don't confuse our efforts at being polite with being tame. Won't take much for us to talk like a Nethri J

Any more information on the Bengalis in concentration camps in Pakistan in 1971? It would be good to know. In 2002 Musharaf reportedly said that if Bangladesh pressed Pakistan to accept the repatriation of 200,000 biharis, Pakistan would require Bangladesh to accept the repatriation of a million Bengalis living illegally in Pakistan. Load of crap? Probably. Shocking if true? Not really. TIB as our young Bangladeshis say. This Is Bangladesh.

The Simla Pact (July 1972) seemingly had nothing to with the recently independent sovereign state of Bangladesh and victors of the war of 1971. It had everything to do with India sorting out its own accords with Pakistan - including handing over those who butchered 3 million Bengalis!

No wonder criminals have had political patronage ever since!

Ezajur Rahman

Kuwait


 

--- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, shafiq013@... wrote:
>
>
> Dear Ejazur
>
> Thanks for your quote of Gen. Mushraf during his visit to Dhaka. I did
> remember it vaguely but not fully. I totally agree that this is not
> apology. But may I ask you what was the reaction of the then Government
> of Bangladesh? Hope you have not forgotten it but you did not mention
> it.
>
> Mr.Ejazur, I do believe no proper investigation was conducted by the
> immediate Government after liberation of the country but if that
> Government failed to do so was not it the responsibility of the
> subsequent Governments? Why whenever there is demand of war criminal, a
> certain quarter always try to dilute the issue by questioning the no. of
> people killed? It is good that you mentioned that it is 2011. Man those
> crimes were committed in 1971, 40 years ago. If you would have
> appreciated the facts you would have not said," In 2011 we seek only
> that half a dozen collaborators are hanged". I am aware that you
> know history very well. Do you remember when trial of Nuremberg started
> and how long it continued?
>
> I agree with you that we are a nation of world class excuse makers. You
> further said that you are from Sylhet and perhaps you should start
> looking for mass graves there. I know for sure when someone shall ask
> you to do it you make an excuse.
>
> Mr. Ejazur it is human nature that when we run out of arguments we start
> throwing challenges. You did the same thing. And what is the result? You
> and your compatriots tried to make mountain out of a mole hole. You made
> a big fuss out of it just by playing with the words. But when one
> alochok made a counter challenge, you acted like a tamed cat.
>
> If you knew the history well you would have not commented," How do
> you have 3 million killed and then release ALL the killers in return for
> recognition by Pakistan?! Because India or the Saudis required it?"
> Do you have any idea how many Bengalis were stranded in Pakistan at that
> time? Not only military but civilians also. What was the treatment to
> them, when asked for, they opted for Bangladesh? Even the civilian head
> of families were taken to concentration camps leaving back their
> families to pull along on their own. To educate you more on this
> subject, Pakistan agreed to release the stranded Bengalis only after the
> Simla pact. To the best of my knowledge (I may be wrong), Pakistan
> recognized Bangladesh much later and Saudi Arabia recognized Bangladesh
> after 1975.
>
> With best regards
>
> Shafiq
> --- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, "ezajur" Ezajur@ wrote:
> >
> > Dear Shafiq
> >
> >
> >
> > No regets needed – we are all busy. Damned modern life!
> >
> >
> >
> > Here is Musharraf on a visit to Dhaka in July 2002:
> >
> > "Your brothers and sisters in Pakistan share the pains of the events
> of
> > 1971. The excesses committed during the unfortunate period are
> > regrettable," Musharraf said at the banquet on Monday night.
> >
> > "Let us bury the past in the spirit of magnanimity. Let not the light
> of
> > the future be dimmed. Let us move forward together," Musharraf said,
> > adding that 'courage to compromise is greater than to confront'.
> >
> > This is no apology by any definition at any level. It is fuzzy wuzzy
> > language used everyday by our political classes to justify the
> failures
> > of their preferred political party. Genocide and mass rape cannot be
> > regrettable excesses to be simply buried. He dared to say so because
> he
> > was speaking personally and not at a State level, because his host was
> > the poor foreign minister Morshed Khan, and because he does not take
> > Bangladesh's numbers seriously.
> >
> >
> >
> > Certainly Sheikh Mujib had his hands full after 1971. But he is
> > nevertheless accountable for what happened on his watch. Even now,
> when
> > our Prime Minister, as Defence Minister, fails to surround the BDR
> Camp,
> > we forgive her because apparently she `did her best'. Well we
> > are a very understanding lot it seems J
> >
> >
> >
> > We claim that in 1971 3 million of our country men were killed and
> > 400,000 raped. Since 1971:
> >
> >
> >
> > 1. No state level investigation into the murders and rapes
> > 2. No international inquiry into the murders and rapes
> > 3. In 2011 we seek only that half a dozen collaborators are hanged
> > 4. No effort to name the dead as much as is possible
> > 5. No effort to identify the bodies as much as is possible
> > 6. No effort to locate the mass graves as much as possible
> > 7. All Pakistani POWs released without trial after killing 3
> millions
> > 8. No state level agenda for apologies or reparations from
> Pakistan
> > 9. No inquiry by India on the number of Bengali refugees who died
> > 10. No investigation into whether the number 3 lac was translated
> into
> > 3 million
> > 11. No improvement in social attitudes towards rape victims in the
> 4
> > decades since
> > 12. Blah blah blah
> >
> >
> >
> > And now in 2011 we have only the silent tears of those who lost loved
> > ones and a lot of sentimental songs. And the use of the numbers as
> > landmarks in our rotten political narrative.
> >
> >
> >
> > How do you have 3 million killed and then release ALL the killers in
> > return for recognition by Pakistan?! Because India or the Saudis
> > required it?! What country does not look for the mass graves of 3
> > million murdered people? Is it pointless? Or is it because the vast
> > majority of our dead are poor people whom no one in power ever really
> > missed? We tend to make a great fuss about our educated martyrs and
> the
> > odd symbolic member of the lower classes.
> >
> >
> >
> > We are a nation of world class excuse makers.
> >
> >
> >
> > Nobody gives a crap what Bangladesh's official position is on the
> > number. The Indians don't comment and the Pakistani's are
> > incredulous. Sigh.
> >
> >
> >
> > Imran Khan has done a better job than us of demanding Pakistan
> > apologises properly to Bangladesh!
> >
> >
> >
> > We are better than this. And our martyrs deserve better than a
> monument
> > and a bunch of songs.
> >
> >
> >
> > I am from Sylhet. Perhaps I should start looking for mass graves
> there.
> > I could ask my local MP to help but I suspect he's busy trying to
> > get a banking licence J
> >
> >
> >
> > Please do write when you can.
> >
> >
> >
> > My best wishes to you.
> >
> >
> >
> > Ezajur Rahman
> >
> > Kuwait
> >
> > --- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, shafiq013@ wrote:
> > >
> > >
> > > Dear Ejazur
> > >
> > > I regret for a late response
> > >
> > > I believe in your admission and I also agree with you that not
> enough
> > > was done to seek apologies from Pakistan by any Government of
> > > Bangladesh, present or past.
> > >
> > > General Parvaiz Musharraf said something on the subject and it may
> be
> > > close to apology but that was not enough. We ask for and we expect a
> > > full fledge apology for all the atrocities, irrespective of
> different
> > > estimations.
> > >
> > > I again agree with you that a formal estimation could have and
> should
> > > have been done by the then immediate Government. Hey! I am not
> > defending
> > > anybody but may be the then Government had lot of other problems for
> a
> > > war ravaged country. Government priorities did change after the 1975
> > > changeover. Today, it will be very unfortunate if AL (or for that
> > matter
> > > BNP) uses these figures for petty personal or political gains. As
> > > regretfully, no census was done immediately after 1971, the official
> > > Bangladesh stand remains for 3 million dead.
> > >
> > > I wish I could touch other points you raised in your posting like
> > > corruption etc., but I should leave it for some other time and
> > > opportunity.
> > >
> > > Best regards
> > >
> > > Shafiq
> > >
> > >
> > > --- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, "ezajur" Ezajur@ wrote:
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Dear Shafiq
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > No, I am not trying to undermine a crime against humanity. I have
> > > > already called the murders of 1971 a crime against humanity and
> > > > genocide. I would have to be a cannibal to side with willful mass
> > > murder
> > > > and rape. I hope you do not think of me so poorly - I could never
> > > assume
> > > > such a thing about you.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > I do not care for what the Pakistanis think as they were the
> > > aggressors.
> > > > I hardly ever mention that country. Of course they cover up even
> > their
> > > > own estimate of the true numbers. The number of 28,000 killed in
> The
> > > > Hamoodur Report must be most grossly understated.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > But our victims deserve reparations, admission and apologies from
> > > > Pakistan. Why should Pakistan get away with it just because we
> > cannot
> > > > demand or present our case properly?
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > I ask because I don't know what the correct figure is and because
> > > > the number has been made sacred by the very same people (BNP and
> AL)
> > > who
> > > > have brought our country to its current condition. And I don't
> > > > believe them. And I don't buy it when those who are the most
> senior
> > > > defenders of this number defend it only with a calculator and
> > > simplistic
> > > > assumptions.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > I apologise for using the word exaggeration as it offends you. It
> > was
> > > > not my intention. But the political classes of my country are
> prone
> > to
> > > > exaggeration, sometimes out of sentimentality (I am one of them
> > too!)
> > > > and sometimes for political gain (unforgiveable).
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Come on Shafiq. Let us not pick on the limitations of mere words.
> > What
> > > > do you think we get our facts right on? The environment? The
> > > population?
> > > > The stock market manipulators? The BDR tragedy? Smuggling? Black
> > > money?
> > > > The deals that our politicians have made? The deals our
> businessmen
> > > > make? The deals our Army makes? Corruption?
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > The electorate does not get the facts.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > It is not enough, for me at least, that a Pakistani soldier,
> however
> > > > honest, said this and that a UN report, informed by any of our
> > > > governments, said that. What about my country? Why can't my
> country
> > > > get even this most important subject right?
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > I am facing a lot of abuse (not from you) but that's okay. I'm
> > > > nobody and I can easily be ignored. But I think the next
> generation
> > > > must, and will, question everything. If they do then we stand a
> > > fighting
> > > > chance of building the nation that so many gave their lives for in
> > > 1971.
> > > > God knows those who followed them have made an almighty mess of
> it.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > This is more about us and the way we conduct ourselves than about
> > the
> > > > Pakistanis. Just because we hate the Pakistanis does not mean that
> > we
> > > > cannot establish, with the best of our efforts, a formal estimate
> of
> > > the
> > > > number of our countrymen murdered in 1971. But we are simply happy
> > > that
> > > > Time and Newsweek gave some estimates. The best estimate may turn
> > out
> > > to
> > > > be 5 millions. And it may turn out to be 1 million (personally, I
> > > > don't think it can be less). We should be serious about the number
> > > > of our dead.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Life has always been cheap in our country. The truth has always
> been
> > > > manipulated. We should try to change that. Let's count our dead.
> > > > Everybody else tries.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > You see Shafiq, sometimes no matter what we say, people see what
> > they
> > > > want to see. I'm sure I am guilty of the same sometimes. I am not
> a
> > > > freak of nature (you did not say it, I am saying it). My opinions
> > and
> > > my
> > > > politics are fuelled by the people I meet everyday, of every age
> and
> > > > class. I find disagreement only with those who are locked into a
> > > > political party – be it BNP, AL, JP or JI. And, in my life
> > > > experience, such locked people are in the vocal minority – not
> > the
> > > > silent majority.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > I have no reason to think I am better informed or even of sounder
> > mind
> > > > than you. But if I differ with anyone it is only, in essence,
> > because
> > > > they are not protesting against our politics. Perhaps they do and
> I
> > > > could be wrong in a particular case. But I have found people
> choose
> > to
> > > > be silent regarding their party no matter how bad things might be.
> > > > That's why there is no meaningful reform in the country.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > I often choose to be obnoxious because I find the silence of those
> > who
> > > > are better informed and better placed than me to be obnoxious. Its
> > > good
> > > > to hear their voice, no matter how hostile.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > I have written to you sincerely. Even though we may continue to
> > differ
> > > I
> > > > hope you will consider my failings to be those of a sincere man.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Best wishes
> > > >
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Ezajur Rahman
> > > >
> > > > Kuwait
> > > >
> > > > --- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, shafiq013@ wrote:
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > You are still trying to undermine the crime committed against
> > > > humanity.
> > > > > The 3 million figures is an estimate and are not only mentioned
> in
> > > > some
> > > > > UN reports but even in some Pakistani reports. You call it an
> > > > > exaggeration absolutely like the official Pakistani stand.
> > > > >
> > > > > Knowing Pakistani mentality, there is no reason to believe this
> > > > > "exaggerated figure" being the reason for no reparations or
> > > > > apologies from Pakistan. Let them apologies even for 28
> thousands,
> > > > they
> > > > > estimate were killed per Hamoodur Rahman commission report.
> Again,
> > > > this
> > > > > also is an estimate only. Do you believe this being the correct
> > > > figure?
> > > > >
> > > > > And why you believe that 3 million figure is exaggerated like
> the
> > > > > official Pakistani stand? Then what is the correct figure?
> > > > >
> > > > > It was nice to know that we never get our facts right on
> anything.
> > > > What
> > > > > it is? News or your desire
> > > > > Shafiq
> > > > > --- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, "ezajur" Ezajur@ wrote:
> > > > > >
> > > > > > The reason why the number 3 million is important is that this
> > > number
> > > > > is symbolic of our societal and politcal failures. If we can lie
> > > about
> > > > > this number we can lie about anything. A nation that exaggerates
> > its
> > > > > dead for political gain and dramatic effect, and does not count
> > its
> > > > > dead, is doomed to rotteness.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > And are we in a rotten condition or not?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Many good people are sleeping or have given up hope or have
> been
> > > > > beaten into submission. If yelling about this 3 million annoys
> > them
> > > > > enough to make them yell back - then thats just fine!
> > > > > >
> > > > > > The fact is that there were crimes against humanity. Of course
> > > this
> > > > is
> > > > > true. The fact also is that the exaggeration of those crimes
> > > actually
> > > > > diminshes the crimes.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Which is why we have no reparations or apologies from
> Pakistan.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > We never get our facts right on anything.
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > > -- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, shafiq013@ wrote:
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > What a logic. You said "There was killing by Pakistani army
> as
> > > > they
> > > > > > > were tried to protect Pakistan and that's fact." Gentleman,
> > Can
> > > > you
> > > > > > > explain why women were raped? Which Pakistan they were
> trying
> > to
> > > > > protect
> > > > > > > by raping women? Why there was loot and arson? Was this
> > another
> > > > > attempt
> > > > > > > to protect Pakistan? Yes, we killed Urdu speaker after the
> war
> > > and
> > > > > > > that's a fact. But if you were old enough to see the war in
> > > 1971,
> > > > > you
> > > > > > > should be able to answer why. The story of the Balouch
> > Pakistani
> > > > > soldier
> > > > > > > is just a story. Even at present there are not many Balouchs
> > in
> > > > > Pakistan
> > > > > > > Army not to talk about in 1971. Yes, there was a Balouch
> > > regiment
> > > > > but
> > > > > > > was occupied by Punjabis mostly. And Ziaur Rahman was not
> > > setting
> > > > up
> > > > > the
> > > > > > > radio at Kalurghat in the middle of war. And above
> everything,
> > a
> > > > > single
> > > > > > > soldier cannot help you in this situation like this even if
> he
> > > > wants
> > > > > to.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > The famous Hamoodur Rahamn commission said around 28-30
> > thousand
> > > > > > > Bengalis were killed. The official Bangladeshi stand is that
> 3
> > > > > million
> > > > > > > Bengalis were killed. The fact is that there were crimes
> > against
> > > > > > > humanity. Don't try to exploit the number of people killed
> to
> > > > dilute
> > > > > > > the issue. The biggest truth of 1971 is 16th December.
> Nothing
> > > > less
> > > > > > > nothing more. Sorry you did not like it.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > Shafiq
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > --- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, "ezajur" <Ezajur@> wrote:
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > Of course the Pakistanis committed massacres - enough for
> > the
> > > > word
> > > > > > > genocide to be used. And they killed many more Bengalis than
> > > vice
> > > > > versa.
> > > > > > > The issues are:
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > 1. Were 3 million Bengalis killed?
> > > > > > > > 2. How has this number been exploited by polictians?
> > > > > > > > 3. What have the lies about 1971 - by BNP and AL - cost
> our
> > > > > country
> > > > > > > since 1971?
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > --- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, Jamil Ahmed jamil_dhaka@
> > > wrote:
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > I was old enough to see the war in 1971. There was
> killing
> > > by
> > > > > > > Pakistani army as they were tried to protect Pakistan and
> > that's
> > > > > fact.
> > > > > > > We killed Urdu speaker after the war and that's a fact. In a
> > > war,
> > > > > it's
> > > > > > > the general people who gives a lot of sacrifice.There
> > story
> > > > will
> > > > > be
> > > > > > > never told. Just to add one fact that I had seen is that in
> > the
> > > > > middle
> > > > > > > of war as Ziaur Rahman was setting up the radio at Kalur
> ghat
> > > and
> > > > > > > Pakistani army took over our area. Obviously we all are
> > shaken,
> > > > one
> > > > > > > Pakistani solder told us not to be afraid, and added that he
> > is
> > > a
> > > > > > > baluch. I am sure there is lotof stories like that and those
> > > will
> > > > be
> > > > > > > covered by weight of atrocities of other Pak solders.
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > Â
> > > > > > > > > Â
> > > > > > > > > --- On Sat, 5/14/11, Dr. M. Mohsin Ali drmohsinali@
> wrote:
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > From: Dr. M. Mohsin Ali drmohsinali@
> > > > > > > > > Subject: [ALOCHONA] A response to Myth-busting of
> > Bangladesh
> > > > war
> > > > > of
> > > > > > > 1971 by Sarmila Bose in english.aljazeera.net
> > > > > > > > > To: alochona@yahoogroups.com
> > > > > > > > > Date: Saturday, May 14, 2011, 12:58 PM
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > SO, MR. EZAJUR, YOU BELIEVE THE STORY OF MS. SHARMILA
> BOSE
> > > > WHICH
> > > > > IS
> > > > > > > THE STORY OF THE PAKISTANI MILITARY ABOUT OUR GREAT
> LIBERATION
> > > > WAR.
> > > > > YOU
> > > > > > > ARE SIGNING WITH THE PAKISTANIS AND THE RAZAKARS. THAT'S WHY
> > YOU
> > > > > NEVER
> > > > > > > LIKED SHEIKH MUJIB AS HE BROKE YOUR BELAOVED PAKISTAN. THAT
> IS
> > > > YOUR
> > > > > REAL
> > > > > > > FACE.
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > --- On Sat, 5/14/11, ezajur Ezajur@ wrote:
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > From: ezajur Ezajur@
> > > > > > > > > Subject: [ALOCHONA] Re: A response to Myth-busting of
> > > > Bangladesh
> > > > > war
> > > > > > > of 1971 by Sarmila Bose in english.aljazeera.net
> > > > > > > > > To: alochona@yahoogroups.com
> > > > > > > > > Date: Saturday, May 14, 2011, 10:25 AM
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > Â
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > Sarmila Bose has made a stand against the myth of 1971
> and
> > > the
> > > > > > > dominant post war narrative and those who have profited from
> > it.
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > The myth of 1971 is that 3 million people Bengalis were
> > > > > > > exterminated. As proven by the lack of any meaningful effort
> > to
> > > > > measure
> > > > > > > the number of deaths by successive governments of
> Bangladesh.
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > The dominant narrative of 1971 has been that the myth of
> > > 1971
> > > > is
> > > > > > > real and that those who shout about it are those who are fit
> > to
> > > > > govern
> > > > > > > best. As proven by the behaviour of every successive
> > government.
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > Those who have profited are those who have publicly
> > promoted
> > > > the
> > > > > > > myth and privately benefitted with power and money. As
> proven
> > by
> > > > the
> > > > > > > behaviour of every successive government.
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > What Farida cannot abide is that anyone can question
> > > anything
> > > > > about
> > > > > > > 1971 because it is the myth of 1971 that, in her mind,
> > empowers
> > > > her
> > > > > and
> > > > > > > her politics, to focus on what they want, ignore what they
> > want
> > > > and
> > > > > rule
> > > > > > > as they see fit. Screw them.
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > The creation of the myth of 1971 was the first step in
> the
> > > > > ruination
> > > > > > > of our country. We have been on our knees ever since.
> Bridges
> > > and
> > > > > export
> > > > > > > earnings cannot measure our people. Our people deserve
> better.
> > > And
> > > > > as AL
> > > > > > > and BNP and Jammat relish the orgy of their gross self
> > > indulgence
> > > > > they
> > > > > > > ignore the future at the nation's peril.
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > If BNP of JI thugs commit rape, murder and extortion, as
> > > they
> > > > > do,
> > > > > > > the Farida Majids of our country will protest. If AL thugs
> > > commit
> > > > > rape,
> > > > > > > murder and extortion, as they do, the Farida Majids of our
> > > country
> > > > > keep
> > > > > > > quiet. There are Farida Majids in BNP and JI.
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > Screw all these bloody hypocrites. They believe they are
> > > true
> > > > to
> > > > > > > their dead leader, their dead father and their dead values.
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > They, and the rest of us, will soon enough return to the
> > > soil
> > > > of
> > > > > our
> > > > > > > country, in which lies buried the truth and best spirit of
> our
> > > > > people
> > > > > > > and our beautiful country.
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > Just look at the condition of our country! You know why
> > > there
> > > > is
> > > > > no
> > > > > > > class war in Bangladesh? You know know why our guitarists
> > can't
> > > > bend
> > > > > > > their knees?
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > May our soil accept our flesh and bones as payment for
> the
> > > > truth
> > > > > and
> > > > > > > may that truth embrace the next generation.
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > To all hypocrites - ££££ you!
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > Ezajur Rahman
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > Its so loud, inside in my head
> > > > > > > > > With words that I should have said.
> > > > > > > > > As I drown in my regrets
> > > > > > > > > I can't take back
> > > > > > > > > the words I never said.
> > > > > > > > > Lupe Fiasco
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > --- In alochona@yahoogroups.com, Farida Majid
> > > <farida_majid@>
> > > > > wrote:
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
> http://english.aljazeera.net/indepth/opinion/2011/05/20115983958114219.h\
> \
> > \
> > > \
> > > > \
> > > > > \
> > > > > > > tml
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > Bangladesh war of 1971 Myth-busting Piece by Sarmila
> > Bose
> > > in
> > > > > Al
> > > > > > > Jazeera.net :
> > > > > > > > > > Farida Majid
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > Here we have Sarmila Bose whining on and on against
> the
> > > > > `dominant
> > > > > > > narrative' and pushing her insubstantial book, Dead
> Reckoning:
> > > > > Memories
> > > > > > > of the 1971 Bangladesh War, as a scholarly work that is
> meant
> > to
> > > > > bust
> > > > > > > the myth of Bangladesh war of independence in 1971. Her
> book's
> > > > spin
> > > > > is
> > > > > > > strung around a few instances of atrocities committed by
> Mukti
> > > > > fighters
> > > > > > > upon non-Bengali collaborators of Pakistan at the time. No
> one
> > > > > denies
> > > > > > > those cruel acts of retaliation. All wars are cruel and
> ugly.
> > > But
> > > > by
> > > > > > > themselves those acts, or her other fieldwork denying
> > widespread
> > > > > rape
> > > > > > > and murder (questioning the occurrence of any rape by
> > Pakistani
> > > > > soldiers
> > > > > > > since she could not get figures of exact date, time and
> place
> > of
> > > > > each
> > > > > > > sexual assault), have not been able to disprove any of the
> > > > > well-known
> > > > > > > incidences of crimes against humanity committed by an
> > uniformed,
> > > > > fully
> > > > > > > equipped with modern arms and ammunition, professionally
> > trained
> > > > > > > Pakistani army and its Bengali collaborators in 1971. I
> > > > > > > > > doubt whether any of the `uncomfortable truth' she has
> > > > unearthed
> > > > > > > could be presented at a War Crimes Tribunal as legal defense
> > > > against
> > > > > the
> > > > > > > charges brought by the Prosecution at such a Tribunal.
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > The harder Sarmila Bose whines about the `dominant
> > > > narrative'
> > > > > the
> > > > > > > fuzzier gets her rationale for wanting to debunk it. Her
> > citing
> > > of
> > > > > the
> > > > > > > example of Lara Logan, the CBS correspondent haplessly
> caught
> > in
> > > > the
> > > > > > > melee of Tahrir Square in Cairo in the spring uprising of
> > 2011,
> > > > > shows to
> > > > > > > what pathetic extent Bose lacks sympathy and imagination in
> > > > > assessing
> > > > > > > the overall reality of people's struggle for freedom from
> > > > > oppression.
> > > > > > > Such struggles in the annals of history are messy, never
> > > > > picture-book
> > > > > > > perfect. Sarmila though is unforgiving, and is too
> > mean-spirited
> > > > to
> > > > > > > tolerate "freedom and democracy-loving people rising up
> > against
> > > > > > > oppressive dictators." She has to take up the arms of a
> > > `scholarly
> > > > > > > study' to bust the myth!
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > What is the 'myth' that she is so anxious to bust?
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > Is genocide in Bangladesh, 1971, a myth?
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > If it is a myth then are we to understand, after Ms
> > Bose's
> > > > > > > so-called `research' and report, that genocide did not take
> > > place
> > > > at
> > > > > all
> > > > > > > in 1971 in the then East Pakistan? The "dominant narrative"
> is
> > > all
> > > > > about
> > > > > > > partisan exaggeration and no one in the international
> > community
> > > > but
> > > > > her
> > > > > > > could detect the "uncomfortable truth" in all these 40
> years.
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > Who does she mean by those "who have profited for so
> > long
> > > > from
> > > > > > > mythologising the history of 1971"?
> > > > > > > > > > Does she mean the people of Bangladesh, the world's
> > eighth
> > > > > most
> > > > > > > populous nation? Does `profit' mean gaining the sovereignty
> > and
> > > > > > > independence as a nation?
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > If so, then all nations who have had to fight for
> > > > independence
> > > > > > > from a colonized condition ought to be labeled as having
> > > "profited
> > > > > from
> > > > > > > mythologizing history." And that would include United States
> > of
> > > > > America.
> > > > > > > > > > Go tell an American that the chronicles of wars and
> > > battles
> > > > > fought
> > > > > > > in the American War of Independence during 1775-1783 are all
> > > > > > > mythologised history, and hence a `dominant narrative', a
> myth
> > > > that
> > > > > is
> > > > > > > in dire need of busting!
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > Let us remind ourselves of the announcement of Gen.
> > Yahya
> > > > Khan
> > > > > at
> > > > > > > a radio interview at the launching of the Operation
> > Searchlight
> > > in
> > > > > > > March, 1971 in East Pakistan: "We will kill three million of
> > > them,
> > > > > and
> > > > > > > they will eat out of our hands!" The number â€"3 million
> > > > â€"
> > > > > is
> > > > > > > immaterial, though admittedly there is an irresolvable
> > argument
> > > > that
> > > > > > > swirls around it. What is legally relevant here, however, is
> > the
> > > > > clear
> > > > > > > expression of goal and intent to commit genocide by Pak
> > military
> > > > > > > apparatus in East Pakistan.
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > New evidences are emerging, not just from the victims
> of
> > > the
> > > > > war
> > > > > > > crimes of 1971, but from the perpetrators themselves. Eye
> > > > witnesses
> > > > > and
> > > > > > > personal encounters from among the Pakistani military
> > personnel
> > > > are
> > > > > > > coming up with accounts of General Niazi, General Rao Farman
> > > Ali,
> > > > et
> > > > > al,
> > > > > > > exhibiting fierce anti-Bengali racism that underscored
> > > activities
> > > > > > > against unarmed, unthreatening civilians. Such activities
> were
> > > > > regarded
> > > > > > > as reprehensive by even the soldiers who carried out the
> > orders
> > > > > because
> > > > > > > they violated the rules and norms of engagement in warfare.
> > > > Several
> > > > > > > books have come out over the years by various Pakistani army
> > > > > personnel
> > > > > > > including one by the infamous General Niazi. They are all
> > > replete
> > > > > with
> > > > > > > quotations and records of utter racial contempt for the
> > Bengalis
> > > > of
> > > > > East
> > > > > > > Pakistan on the part of top brass military officers in the
> > > > Pakistani
> > > > > > > army who wanted at least a partial destruction of the whole
> > race
> > > > of
> > > > > > > Bengalis as a punitive measure for their rebellion.
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > We can then proceed to take a peek at the following U.
> > N.
> > > > > > > Convetion:
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > Excerpt from the Convention on the Prevention and
> > > Punishment
> > > > > of
> > > > > > > Genocide (For full text click here)
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > "Article II: In the present Convention, genocide means
> > any
> > > > of
> > > > > the
> > > > > > > following acts committed with intent to destroy, in whole or
> > in
> > > > > part, a
> > > > > > > national, ethnical, racial or religious group, as such:
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > (a) Killing members of the group;
> > > > > > > > > > (b) Causing serious bodily or mental harm to members
> of
> > > the
> > > > > group;
> > > > > > > > > > (c) Deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of
> > > life
> > > > > > > calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole
> or
> > > in
> > > > > part;
> > > > > > > > > > (d) Imposing measures intended to prevent births
> within
> > > the
> > > > > group;
> > > > > > > > > > (e) Forcibly transferring children of the group to
> > another
> > > > > group.
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > Article III: The following acts shall be punishable:
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > (a) Genocide;
> > > > > > > > > > (b) Conspiracy to commit genocide;
> > > > > > > > > > (c) Direct and public incitement to commit genocide;
> > > > > > > > > > (d) Attempt to commit genocide;
> > > > > > > > > > (e) Complicity in genocide. "
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > Let us all work for peace as best as each of us can.
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > Salutes!
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > > > Farida Majid
> > > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > > >
> > > > > > > >
> > > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > >
> > > >
> > >
> >
>



__._,_.___


[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com




Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

[ALOCHONA] FW: Arundhati Roy on Genocide



Excerpt:

 

Genocide Denial is a radical variation on the theme of the old, frankly racist, bloodthirsty triumphalism. It was probably evolved as an answer to the somewhat patchy dual morality that arose in the 19th century, when Europe was developing limited but new forms of democracy and citizens' rights at home while simultaneously exterminating people in their millions in her colonies. Suddenly countries and governments began to deny or attempt to hide the genocides they had committed. "Denial is saying, in effect," says Professor Robert Jay Lifton, author of Hiroshima and America: Fifty Years of Denial, "that the murderers did not murder. The victims weren't killed. The direct consequence of denial is that it invites future genocide."


 

Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2008 16:29:55 +0000
Subject: [uttorshuri] Re: Arundhati Roy on Genocide

Dear Ms Majid,

Thank you for bringing this very enlightening article to our
attention! I was debating whether to honor your request and commit
"copyright violation", but I finally decided to reproduce it in
uttorshuri in full so that our readers can catch up with it later in
case the original site makes it unavailable as most media sites tend
to do: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/uttorshuri/message/7939

Her portrayal of the human condition is disturbing, and depressing.
I invite others to comment on our own current situation vis-a-vis
issues that Roy discusses albeit in the context of India, Turkey, or
US. But I'll just comment on one matter that's been bothering me for
quite some time now: I could never understand how rational, highly
educated, apparently progressive people could support the idea of
systematically populating the Ctg Hill Tracts with "Bangalees" i.e. plains-people. Now I see it: It is our own Lebensraum!

I have said in this very forum before that what we are doing to the
adivasis there, viz. the Marmas and Chakmas and others, is comparable
to what the Pakistanis were doing to us in 1971. Now I can clearly
see it is nothing less than another genocide in the process, "in a
fish bowl in slow motion," as Ms Roy puts it when she refers to the
Israelis decimating the Palestinians on an annual basis.

How have we turned into the very monster we accuse Pakistanis and
their collaborators of having been? That answer is also provided by
Roy, I believe, where she touches upon the issue of "impunity" as
a "precursor" to genocides. Profound!

I cannot wait to read the full version of this article in print.

Ikram

--- In uttorshuri@yahoogroups.com, "Farida Majid" wrote:
>
> The article is worth being reproduced here.
>
> Listening To Grasshoppers
> Genocide, Denial And Celebration
>
> It's an old human habit, genocide is. It's a search for lebensraum,
a project of Union and Progress.
> Arundhati Roy
>
www.outlookindia.com/full.asp?fodname=20080204&fname=Cover+Story+(F)&sid=1




__._,_.___


[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com




Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

Re: [ALOCHONA] India's unwanted girls



Amader nari netri ra "Nari bachao andolon koren" tara ki Hidu Staaaner ei lomohorshok bestial hottayar bishoy kichu bolben na mukhey kulup etey rakhben karon opar to netrider "Tirthosthan".


Amader Pobitro Bangladeshi ei rokom kichu holey to "Mullah/Moulovi der/Madrasa chatra/Dari Tupi walar lungir kapor khuley nengta korey charten???

On Mon, May 23, 2011 at 8:21 AM, Isha Khan <bd_mailer@yahoo.com> wrote:
 

India's unwanted girls

ndia's 2011 census shows a serious decline in the number of girls under the age of seven - activists fear eight million female foetuses may have been aborted in the past decade. The BBC's Geeta Pandey in Delhi explores what has led to this crisis.

Kulwant has three daughters aged 24, 23 and 20 and a son who is 16.

In the years between the birth of her third daughter and her son, Kulwant became pregnant three times.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Deepali Sah

My mother-in-law said if I had a daughter, my husband would leave me. Thankfully, I had a son."

End Quote Deepali Sah Health worker

Each time, she says, she was forced to abort the foetus by her family after ultrasound tests confirmed that they were girls.

"My mother-in-law taunted me for giving birth to girls. She said her son would divorce me if I didn't bear a son."

Kulwant still has vivid memories of the first abortion. "The baby was nearly five months old. She was beautiful. I miss her, and the others we killed," she says, breaking down, wiping away her tears.


Until her son was born, Kulwant's daily life consisted of beatings and abuse from her husband, mother-in-law and brother-in-law. Once, she says, they even attempted to set her on fire.

"They were angry. They didn't want girls in the family. They wanted boys so they could get fat dowries," she says.


India outlawed dowries in 1961, but the practice remains rampant and the value of dowries is constantly growing, affecting rich and poor alike.

Kulwant's husband died three years after the birth of their son. "It was the curse of the daughters we killed. That's why he died so young," she says.

Common attitude

Continue reading the main story

Girl Power

How girls are valued varies widely across India. Over the years, most states in the south and north-east have been kind to their girls, and sex ratios are above the national average.

In the matrilineal societies of Kerala and Karnataka in the south and Meghalaya in the north-east, women have enjoyed high status and commanded respect. But the latest census figures show the good news even in these areas could be turning bad. A minor decline in the number of girls has begun in the three states which, campaigners worry, might be indicative of a trend.


What is seen as most distressing is the steep decline in the number of girls under seven in the southern state of Andhra Pradesh and in Sikkim, Nagaland, Manipur and Tripura in the north-east. Even though these states have registered numbers much higher than the national average, the decline is too substantial to ignore.

But all is not lost. Some states, such as Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh - which saw the gap between numbers of boys and girls widen in 2001 - have shown an improvement. That is cause for some cheer, campaigners say.

Her neighbour Rekha is mother of a chubby three-year-old girl.

Last September, when she became pregnant again, her mother-in-law forced her to undergo an abortion after an ultrasound showed that she was pregnant with twin girls.

"I said there's no difference between girls and boys. But here they think differently. There's no happiness when a girl is born. They say the son will carry forward our lineage, but the daughter will get married and go off to another family."Kulwant and Rekha live in Sagarpur, a lower middle-class area in south-west Delhi.Here, narrow minds live in homes separated by narrow lanes.


The women's story is common and repeated in millions of homes across India, and it has been getting worse.In 1961, for every 1,000 boys under the age of seven, there were 976 girls. Today, the figure has dropped to a dismal 914 girls.


Although the number of women overall is improving (due to factors such as life expectancy), India's ratio of young girls to boys is one of the worst in the world after China.

Many factors come into play to explain this: infanticide, abuse and neglect of girl children.

But campaigners say the decline is largely due to the increased availability of antenatal sex screening, and they talk of a genocide.

Graphic of girls in India

The government has been forced to admit that its strategy has failed to put an end to female foeticide.

'National shame'

"Whatever measures have been put in over the past 40 years have not had any impact on the child sex ratio," Home Secretary GK Pillai said when the census report was released.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh described female foeticide and infanticide as a "national shame" and called for a "crusade" to save girl babies.

But Sabu George, India's best-known campaigner on the issue, says the government has so far shown little determination to stop the practices.

File photo of schoolchildren at a rally against female foeticide in Delhi Campaigners say India's strategy to protect female babies is not working

Until 30 years ago, he says, India's sex ratio was "reasonable". Then in 1974, Delhi's prestigious All India Institute of Medical Sciences came out with a study which said sex-determination tests were a boon for Indian women.

It said they no longer needed to produce endless children to have the right number of sons, and it encouraged the determination and elimination of female foetuses as an effective tool of population control.

"By late 80s, every newspaper in Delhi was advertising for ultrasound sex determination," said Mr George.

"Clinics from Punjab were boasting that they had 10 years' experience in eliminating girl children and inviting parents to come to them."

In 1994, the Pre-Natal Determination Test (PNDT) Act outlawed sex-selective abortion. In 2004, it was amended to include gender selection even at the pre-conception stage.

Abortion is generally legal up to 12 weeks' gestation. Sex can be determined by a scan from about 14 weeks.

"What is needed is a strict implementation of the law," says Varsha Joshi, director of census operations for Delhi. "I find there's absolutely no will on the part of the government to stop this."

Today, there are 40,000 registered ultrasound clinics in the country, and many more exist without any record.

'Really sad'

Ms Joshi, a former district commissioner of south-west Delhi, says there are dozens of ultrasound clinics in the area. It has the worst child sex ratio in the capital - 836 girls under seven for every 1,000 boys.

Continue reading the main story

"Start Quote

Varsha Joshi

Something's really wrong here and something has to be done to put things right"

End Quote Varsha Joshi Delhi census chief

Delhi's overall ratio is not much better at 866 girls under seven for every 1,000 boys.

"It's really sad. We are the capital of the country and we have such a poor ratio," Ms Joshi says.

The south-west district shares its boundary with Punjab and Haryana, the two Indian states with the worst sex ratios.

Since the last census, Punjab and Haryana have shown a slight improvement. But Delhi has registered a decline.

"Something's really wrong here and something has to be done to put things right," Ms Joshi says.

Almost all the ultrasound clinics in the area have the mandatory board outside, proclaiming that they do not carry out illegal sex-determination tests.

But the women in Sagarpur say most people here know where to go when they need an ultrasound or an abortion.

They say anyone who wants to get a foetal ultrasound done, gets it done. In the five-star clinics of south Delhi it costs 10,000-plus rupees ($222; £135), In the remote peripheral areas of Delhi's border, it costs a few hundred rupees.

Similarly, the costs vary for those wanting an illegal abortion.

Delhi is not alone in its anti-girl bias. Sex ratios have declined in 17 states in the past decade, with the biggest falls registered in Jammu and Kashmir.

Ms Joshi says most offenders are members of the growing middle-class and affluent Indians - they are aware that the technology exists and have the means to pay to find out the sex of their baby and abort if they choose.

"We have to take effective steps to control the promotion of sex determination by the medical community. And file cases against doctors who do it," Mr George says.

"Otherwise by 2021, we are frightened to think what it will be like."

Graphic of sex ratios across India

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-13264301






__._,_.___


[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com




Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___

RE: [ALOCHONA] The Grameen affair: time to learn lessons and move on



     A timely reminder would be 'Dui Bigha Jomi' of Rabindranath Thakur.
 
                              Shudhu bighe dui chhilo mor bhnUi, Ar shob-i gechhe rin-e
                               Babu bolilen, "Bujhechho Upen, e jomi loibo kine"
 
<<Many find something deeply repugnant about loans, credit and debt. Credit and debt can never be trusted; the hated 'rin' which pauperised the peasantry under the British era zamindary system and of course such haram/usury can never do anyone any good.>>
 
                                 e jogote haye  sei beshi chaye achhe jar bhuri bhuri
                                  Rajar hasto kare shomosto kangaler dhon churi
 
             Yunus was not quite a British era raja or zamindar.  But he sure was the next best thing. An innovative banker of late 20th century who devised a novel 'hosto' that "kare shomosto kangaler dhon churi" and a sure way to pauperize the peasantry. Meanwhile, he made a jolly 'bhuri bhuri'.
 
                                        Farida Majid


To: alochona@yahoogroups.com
From: ezajur.rahman@q8.com
Date: Sun, 22 May 2011 15:06:38 +0300
Subject: [ALOCHONA] The Grameen affair: time to learn lessons and move on

 

The Grameen affair: time to learn lessons and move on

May 18, 2011
Afsan Chowdhury
 
The present phase of the Grameen affair has now ended with the official probe report in and Yunus ousted from his post as the managing director. The probe report has cleared Yunus of all theft and misappropriation charges.
However, the remit of the report was not to detect theft and the observations are about management and administrative issues which may be serious but the Grameen affair was never about that. The sponsors and writers of the report should also be congratulated for doing such a tough job under pressure.
So let's learn the lessons from the episode and move on.
* * *
The affair was triggered by a Norwegian documentary of dubious intent, full of innuendoes and half accusations. When the hullabaloo initially occurred, the documentary makers had pushed the charges but once challenged, they retracted on most matters including the theft charge claiming they had never insinuated it. Many in Bangladesh rushed to judgment. Some people who were always convinced that Yunus was a villain and a 'shudhkor' thought they had found smoking gun evidence of their prejudices and that too offered by the 'halal' hands of a European.
The point raised by the documentary about fund transfer issue between Grameen Bank and NORAD has actually been found to be a settled issue by the probe report though the report has made contingent observations on the process but none of which are about criminal offences. One therefore wonders what the documentary was all about if the points it raised were almost all irrelevant. Its comment on the loan system in hindsight also appears to have been a hatchet job.
* * *
The documentary was produced at least partly by the resentment in certain Scandinavian circles about the Grameen phenomenon which is old hat. These people must have thought that as Bangladeshis were not famously critical thinkers they would swallow the accusations which of course many did.
It is good to remember that many high achievers who work in the spotlight will face such accusations over time. Even a spotless man such as Prof. Muzaffer Ahmed of TIB was charged in media once on matters related to corruption but of course it was later proved false. And a running a multi-billion taka institution like Grameen Bank will involve many glitches but they can't become an excuse for an attack on a loan system serving the poor.
So the best protection of credibility is healthy mistrust of media materials, local or foreign which do such accusing. We do trust Western media more and they are more reliable in general compared to many Bangladeshis but when dealing with national institutions, let's trust ourselves first on matters which matter.
* * *
But the Grameen Bank debate goes much farther than matters concerning Prof. Yunus and his operations. It reaches deep into our collective anxieties and aspiration, social and personal about modernity and its contingent mechanisms. People became emotionally involved in this debate and perhaps rightly so because it was on fundamental issues of identity and cultural construction of Bangladeshis. Positions were not taken on the basis of evidence or occasionally, common sense.
For example, Yunus was accused of being a 'shudkhor, a man who took interests and unfair ones at that. Micro credit was described as synonymous with some sort of foundational 'sin while 'interest' and 'loan' emerged as codes for exploitation. The language used by many was that of describing a man who had broken the important taboos, the man who has taken 'haram', the 'sudhokhor' rejected by Islam. Marxists too have also rejected micro credit saying it is 'capitalistic' and tools of 'imperialism', terms that are socialist counterparts of 'Iblish' and 'murtad', words that don't require analysis. For both followers, it is an issue of protecting the dogma, not arguments.
* * *
There are almost no credible reports that are negative about micro credit and economists after economist from Rehman Sobhan down have publicly stated its benefits without singing its absurd praise as some micro credit agencies do. But it has had no impact on the mind of those opposing micro credit. They assumed their knowledge based on conceptual fundamentalism and some anecdotal encounters rather than qualified evidence or understanding of the mechanism of poverty alleviation and economics of the poor.
* * *
Many find something deeply repugnant about loans, credit and debt. Credit and debt can never be trusted; the hated 'rin' which pauperised the peasantry under the British era zamindary system and of course such haram/usury can never do anyone any good.
This is a cultural issue and must be recognised as such. The middle-class, which finds the present and the future unsettling clings on to an imagined past of golden villages located in some non-existent pre-colonial era. It finds modern capitalism which is negation of such world very unsettling because it negates the village life everyone fantasises of as 'pure and the pristine.'
This anxiety of the middle-class with the modern era and its tools is perhaps the most disturbing revelation of the episode. It shows how deeply our peasant past, our religion and our imagination of halal –social or religious — economics plays a role in our perceptions of managing the future. In the end, it is our anxiety with modernity that becomes obvious.
* * *
Debt and credit are as impersonal as its management and in a capitalist economy there can be no option other than institutional credit to carry out economic activities. Every entrepreneur is in debt and should seek more credit for enterprise. What happened to ancient Arabia or colonial Bengal, two sources of credit stigma, doesn't apply to us now. When we condemn loan, credit, debt and tools of the modern world, etc. we condemn without understanding how our present and future works.
Caught between a world which never or no longer exist and a world we resist because we don't know how to cope with it, we live in denial and look for reassurance that our Rupashi Bangla can exist, free of debts and poverty, free of the modern.
* * *
Yet Bangladesh has millions of capitalists but they are not those who crowd the stock market floors but live in the villages, the micro entrepreneurs. Capitalism didn't arrive in limousines in muddy Bangladesh, but in bullock carts. And without credit, it is impossible to participate in capitalism. How can people living in such a land-starved economy depend on land for farming? It is no accident that one third of the population is extreme poor. For all living below the poverty line, enterprise is a way out. What are they supposed to do for a living?
Most of us have never seen a micro-credit operation or studied it yet we claim that something nasty must be going on. From this affair, the most important lesson we learn is about ourselves. We are still not sure about evidence based thinking or matters and facts that challenge our emotional and intellectual comfort zones.
We are also deeply into a patron-client culture where we the elite, middle-class or otherwise, assume that we know what is best for the poor. So we are not ready to accept that millions are navigating their lives with tolls that we don't approve. In the end, we who do nothing for the poor, insist we can decide what is good and bad for them although for nearly 40 years they have been doing it quite well, increasingly without our involvement.
* * *
Micro credit institutions also need to demystify micro credit. That it is nothing more than credit operations serving the poor who can have no access to loans. That micro credit is part of a bigger project and it is not a complete package for poverty alleviation.
Our relationship with private or civil society institutions is always uneasy vis-à-vis the government making us the ultimate victims of the colonial imagination. We believe that the sarkar bahadur is not kind but it alone has the right to deliver social goods because all power comes from the government. We don't want to be in charge because we have never been in charge and we don't know how to. Khoirat (charity) particularly official khoirat is preferable because it reeks of doya (mercy) rather than credit which is so impersonal.
* * *
While the middle-class wallows in this mindset, the poor have escaped it though not by choice. Left out there and forgotten by the state, it is the poor who out of survival instincts have left the past more than others. Their world view of other matters is not threatened by the nature of their economic transactions. The middle-class who has no stake in the micro credit system have attacked it because it shakes their world views but not their economics. They feel safe to criticise what doesn't affect them.
* * *
Another reason why this mess occurred is because of the lack of conversation between the NGOs and the urban elite who influence or control public opinion. Had they been properly exposed to the micro credit process, everyone would have benefited. The NGOs adopt a "we-can-ignore-them" attitude which doesn't work in today's world. The government also thought that it could do the same with Grameen ignoring the international friends of Grameen and Yunus. In today's interconnected world, everyone is part of everything. The NGOs, the governments, and the media should learn this valuable lesson.
Nor can anyone take an arbitrary path of management which ignores accountability while running public institutions like Grameen, BRAC, etc. No matter who founds, transparent and accountable governance is a pre-conditional and obligatory for all.
* * *
Finally, let's not overdo the prize bit. Yunus got the Nobel Prize but so what? As events show he was not above the law, criticisms, mistakes, self glorification and what have you. It is not something which just the admirers of Yunus should know but members of the present regime as well, who regularly demand a Nobel for Sheikh Hasina. And she should remember when her sycophants speak that her father Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the most successful Bengali ever, never got a Nobel Prize. Greatness doesn't need a medal as proof nor shallowness any certificate of evidence.

 

 




__._,_.___


[Disclaimer: ALOCHONA Management is not liable for information contained in this message. The author takes full responsibility.]
To unsubscribe/subscribe, send request to alochona-owner@egroups.com




Your email settings: Individual Email|Traditional
Change settings via the Web (Yahoo! ID required)
Change settings via email: Switch delivery to Daily Digest | Switch to Fully Featured
Visit Your Group | Yahoo! Groups Terms of Use | Unsubscribe

__,_._,___